


The First Strike

by CreativeDrinks



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Electricity, Gen, Lightning - Freeform, Mentions of Bill - Freeform, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-10
Updated: 2017-02-10
Packaged: 2018-09-22 13:34:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9609656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CreativeDrinks/pseuds/CreativeDrinks
Summary: He had never thought much of lightning storms, in fact, he had enjoyed them as a child. Watching the powerful electricity erupt a flash of its power.But now, he could never be that same way again, after seeing the first flash thunder down from the sky, hitting the ground, he knew everything had changed.





	

The Stan-o-War ll was floating

That was no surprise since it was a boat after all. But today, today it was peaceful.

Stan thought the boat was amazing when he had first seen it. Others thought different, but that didn't matter, all that did was Ford and him had liked it. In no time they had set sail, daring into the bright blue sea together, awaiting what was in store for them in the future. 

They had only been out for three weeks and everything had been going smoothly, however that didn't mean a few arguments would come and go, but it was normal sibling stuff. Everything he had been wanting for fifty years was finally coming true.

But then things changed.

Stan had begun to have memory lapses, where he would temporarily forget where he was, what he was doing... who he was. And for his brother, Stanford, it was terrible, it was as if he was temporarily reliving what had happened about two months ago when he had to kill who his brother was to defeat Bill. Often, when he would remember things again, the first thing Ford would do was envelop him in a hug while choking on his own tears.

But problems didn't just last among Stan too, Ford began to have nightmares. Meeting Bill, Inside the portal, Weirdmageddon, Stan, his whole family, everyone, everything. He would wake up nights, soaked in sweat, screaming bloody murder, begging for Bill to stop. And as Ford comforted him when he didn't remember things, Stan did the same to him.

Last night, things were different. No nightmares, no memory lapses, peaceful. Perhaps that's what made this day so amazing. But it was only 6 in the morning, maybe things wouldn't be different.

As Stanley Pines walked out onto the deck of the boat, he took a huge breath of air, letting it out slowly. He appreciated the salty air since he thought it made him tougher, being able to endure such things. He sipped his coffee lightly, but it was still hot. A few seagulls squawked above in the sky, as he glanced up, they were already gone, though.

Right now, things could not have been any better. Even with all the problems they were going through as a result of Bill, he would never trade it for another forty years of what the twins had previously gone through. 

"Truly living right now," Stan said as he took another sip of his coffee.

"Are you talking to yourself again, Stanley?" Stan turned around just to see Ford standing there, putting on his regular sea jacket. Stan rolled his eyes and lightly punched his twin brother on the shoulder. 

"Ah, don't judge me," Stan said while laughing. Ford smiled brightly in return.

"No! I wasn't going to! It's normal, I did it quite a lot, everybody does it," said Ford in return. Ford walked over to the deck and leaned onto the handrail, much like his brother was doing. "If I may ask, why are you up so early in the morning? I never thought of you as a morning person." 

"Oh nothing, just admiring the sunrise, and thinking, about everything that happened," Stan said. Ford, however, did not reply, just stared down into the water, ending the conversation between them.

"The sun sure is shining bright today isn't it?" Ford said, staring into the sky.

"Yeah, that's why I came out, today seems so peaceful and nice," remarked Stan. Just right then his stomach began to grumble. Stan laughed loudly and headed back inside, Ford following behind.

After breakfast, the day continued as regular.

Stan talking to the twins via online, Ford observing the sea. Talking, laughing, everything as it should be. 

About three hours later, they were back in the same position, both twins leaning against the railing. They found themselves doing this a lot when they would go outside and talk.

For a while, none of them spoke, just silently observing the waves. Ford, however, was noticing something off. Although Stan believed today was going to be perfect, he couldn't get away the nagging suspicion something was going to happen tonight. 

"Do you think it'll always be like this?" Stan asked.

Ford, taken aback by his statement, responded. "What do you mean, Stanley?"

"I mean, like, you've been having nightmares, I've been having memory lapses. It's getting out of hand. Every day, waking up to see what's wrong with ourselves. And today, today was the first day in a long time where everything seems relatively normal."

"Stan, nothing has ever been considered normal for us, I mean it started off the day we were born when you got a six-fingered freak for a brother-"

"Ford, I didn't mean it like that"

"No just listen, We've never been considered normal in our lives, the freak twins, that's always been us. And even in the future, you becoming an insane con man and professionally scamming people, and me, building an insane machine that could destroy the whole universe. And to turn out, you saving the whole universe. None of that is considered normal, and don't ever let it be. Shouldn't you of all people know what it means for something to be normal, because normal, Stanley, is boring."

Stan sighed and buried his face in his hands. "There's a good kind of normal and a bad kind, don't you think we're experiencing the bad kind right now?" He simply said, as he turned around and walked back inside. Before walking in the door, he turned around a final time, " I just, thought, you know, after the Portal, Weirdmageddon, Everything that we've faced in our lives, we'd finally get a break and get to live our lives peacefully until the end, don't you think we deserve that?" And walked through the door, leaving Ford standing there, pondering about what his brother had said.

After Weirdmageddon had happened, the whole family, the whole town, had been traumatized, but everybody agreed it had affected the Pines and the Circle Members the most since they had been so involved. the first few nights were awful for everyone, but Ford tried to shove everything aside, as he had tried doing with the Portal, Bill, everything.... He honestly wanted things to be normal after everything, but Ford had realized that they were the Pines, nothing would every be normal for them. 

Stanford felt something wet hit his hair, he looked up to see rain droplets falling from the sky. He held out his palm as the water fell on it. He smiled softly, he loved rain as a child, and even in the other dimensions. It was so peaceful, it made everyone go inside, and for once he would actually be alone with his thoughts, and not with the noises of the outside world. He stood out there for a while, watching the rain slowly fall from the sky and hit the water. He had no desire to bundle up his coat, or put on his hood, just sink into the soft feeling of water pouring down from the sky. "Hey, Stanford!" Ford turned around as he heard Stan shout. He didn't know how long he had been standing there because he had slowly let his mind wander away from his thoughts. "You're going to get sick or something if you keep standing out there in the rain!" shouted Stan. 

Ford headed back into the boat as the rain began to increase and pour down on the hull of the boat. 

"Sixer! Help me try to nail these wooden boards on! Weather Channel says we're in for a rough night!" Stan shouted from the side of the boat. Ford ran over and picked up the hammer, trying to help his brother as much as he could. 

After both brothers had hammered in all the little patches, they stood on the hull of the ship. The rain was beginning to pour down as the waves were starting to get a bit rough. 

"It's our first storm, Poindexter. After we get through this, we'll officially become sailors, don't you think?" Ford seemed appalled by Stan's enthusiasm as he stood there, dripping wet, smiling as if he could not have been happier.

"It's funny, Stan," Ford said, holding the boat railing tightly as the boat began to tip a bit, "most people would be terrified, and here you are, happier than a kid in a candy shop, as the old expression goes."

As Ford said this, Stan let out a bark of laughter. "But you said it yourself, we've never been normal, we've been through hell and back and damn right we can get through this. 

Suddenly the boat tipped and a large amount of water spilled on. Instantly both twins knew what to do. Stan ran to go dump the excess water out from the boat's surface, and Ford ran to the wheel, desperately trying to control the boat. A few more times the boat tipped and water spilled, but Stan had seen it as a routine to dump out excess water. 

After the rain began to pour down heavily, Thunder rolled across the sky, the loud sound knocking the twins out of focus. Ford looked up to see the dark heavy gray clouds littered across the sky. Funny, he thought, how this morning everything seemed perfect. He tore his eyes away from the gray sky and back to the wheel. He was already having trouble focusing because of his glasses that were covered in water. He wasn't going to complain about being cold, though. That was something he had grown accustomed to on the other side of the portal.

Stan was also mesmerized by the sight. He was staring up at the sky for a while, admiring the gray clouds mixed with the falling rain. 

"STAN!" Ford shouted. Stan turned around just to see the boat tip over once more and a large amount of water splash onto him. 

Stan gasped as he choked out a large amount of water and brushed his soaking hair from his face. 

"FORD! Steer us out of here! This is getting for real!" Stan shouted. Ford nodded and gripped the wheel tighter, he tried twisting it to the left, but it wouldn't budge. 

 

And that's when it happened. 

 

Ford had been looking down when the lightning first struck, but he heard the sound clear as day. He saw the blue-purple glow from his peripheral vision. When he actually looked up. The lightning flashed down and struck the water.

The blue color.

The one Bill had used. 

Stan began to shout from where he was standing. Yelling at Ford to turn the wheel around, to go down into the ship and wait for the storm to end. But Ford couldn't hear him.

Lightning struck down again, and all Ford heard was Bill's laughter

_Another 500 volts? Whatever it takes for you to spit out that equation Fordsy!_

The pain of the electricity shocking him was unlike anything he had experienced. The metal plate in his head ringing from the electricity, wanting him to tear out the plate. Bill, laughing, with not a care of whatever he did to whomever he wanted. 

Ford couldn't see the boat anymore.

He saw Bill

_What about another chain to tie you up. Ha! you look just like a disobedient animal! Aren't they suffocating? Didn't you say that about your brother once, I wonder how it feels for the same thing to be thrown on you!_

Ford felt the chain latch on his neck, choking him. His hand clawed at it, but with every touch, it burned his hands. It was hopeless.  
Oh God, he was never on a boat. He had never gone sailing with Stanley. He was still stuck as Bill's prisoner. 

_Bill pulled on the chain. Choking Ford as he hung from the middle of the Fearamid. Other chains came out from the walls and stuck to his arms and legs. Bill looked at him with a smile if he could. "I see you're going to be stubborn and refuse to tell me about that equation, honestly, I think you're being an idiot. But hey! Haven't you always been one! Now let's just see how long you're going to last before you break!" The Monsters behind him began to laugh loudly as Bill raised his hands, both of them glowing blue._

_"500 VOLTS!"_

_He struck._

_All Ford could see was blue, the chains vibrated loudly, as his whole body shook hard. The metal chain around his arms and leg burned his wrists and ankles. His skull felt like it was pounding._

_When the lightning stopped, Ford only looked at Bill. He could smell the charred smoke off of him. Bill's eye widened in surprise._

_"Wow! All it took were 500 Volts to put you down! Don't worry, I'm not letting you die. You'll wake up in a little bit!"_

_He shut his eyes._

There was nothing to do now, wouldn't it all just come back anyway. Pain was an endless cycle for him the day he was born. He would be woken up shortly, the best thing to do right now would be to sleep. Sleep forever to put an end to everything.

 

_And that's exactly what he did_

_Or what he wish he could do_

__

When Ford woke up, he saw the sunlight from the hatch on the roof. 

Ah, so it was morning. 

He put his hand up to shield the light from his eyes and continued laying on the bed. He saw his wrists were red.

Then Stan walked into the room.

"Oh, Ford, you're awake." Ford went up and sat up on the bed. He was still wearing yesterday's clothes. And they were slightly damp from the pouring rain. His wrists were hurting and his head felt like it was pounding. He should probably ask Stan if they had pain killer or something. Ford looked at the small digital watch they had bought before leaving for their trip. The time currently read 6:54 AM. Last time he had checked, the storm was in the afternoon. Oh God, how long had he been asleep? That would've meant Stan had to handle everything himself.

"Stan, w-what happened last night. I remember there was the storm." Ford noticed how Stan looked uncomfortable. He was staring out the window, avoiding eye contact. Ford looked around the boat, some of the wood they had hammered in had been broken and was laying on the floor, wet and broken. There was still about an inch of water on the ground of the boat. 

"Stan..."

"You had a panic attack," Stan said simply. Ford looked down at his wrists and winced. "We were out on the boat during the storm, then the lightning began. I started shouting at you to turn the boat around, or to come inside. But you just sort of froze. You were looking straight at the lightning, a-and you were taking these heavy breaths as if you were losing air. You couldn't hear me or see the boat. You were like in your own world. Then you just fell to your knees saying Bill's name, begging him to stop." Ford looked at Stan, trying to remember anything of yesterday. All he remembered was seeing Bill, he thought he was back in the Fearamid, but now he realized he was just suffering. 

"I thought you- just-, I don't even know. I ran up to you, and you were just saying Bill's name over and over again. It was at that moment I knew you were suffering from PTSD again. I couldn't just leave you at there because you would just get sick from the rain. 

Stan stopped to pause. He looked at Ford. who was staring at his wrists and not saying a word. "Rain poured down, and I tried steering the ship away, the rest of what happened was a blur for me even. I remembered just trying to get us safe. Eventually, we struck shore at, I don't even know when. 

Ford put his head in his hands. "Oh God, Stan, I'm so sorry. You had to go through all of that by yourself. And I was so weak, and I - I couldn't help you."

"What! I'm not mad at you for straight up panicking out there, I don't blame you at all! I wish _I_ could have helped _you_. 

Stan knew his brother had been really affected by Weirdmageddon, he had spent what was equivalent to two weeks in the Fearamid, since building that robot wasn't easy. Ford hadn't really spoken about what had happened, but Stan could tell whatever it was, it must have affected Ford in a really negative way.

"I wanted to ask, is this the first time this has happened, I mean I know you have nightmares and stuff, but ever anything like this?" Stan asked, leaning on the small shelf.

"Actually no, I've been used to nightmares every day since we were kids, but this was frightening even for me. If it happens next time, we could be in an even worse situation, what happens then Stan?" said Ford in a quiet voice, "I'm really sorry, Stanley. I never wanted any of this to happen." Ford said, hanging his head down. Suddenly Stan punched him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, we'll get through this. Like I said, we've been through hell and back. If anyone can get through this, it's us. Now come on, the sun just rose, and you always love watching it." Stan said, holding out his hand. 

 

It almost seemed like Deja vu, how many times they ended up on the side of the boat, staring at the water, or the sky. But this time was different because they knew they weren't going to be easy, even after the damn apocalypse itself. They knew things would be rough for the both of them, but they would get through it together because that's what they always did.

The sun was midway in the sky, and the salty smell of the ocean lingered in the air. Both twins knew what was coming in the future, but that wouldn't stop them from living in the present. 

The Stan-o-War ll was moving foreward

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry this was a little rushed, I haven't written a fanfiction in over a year. But I've had this idea in my head for so long, and I absolutely needed to finally get it out on paper.


End file.
